Giving Credit Where Credit is Due, Part 1

digresssmlOriginally published September 3, 1993, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1033

“If it’s something that I’m a stickler for, it’s credit. Give it when it’s due.” –Rob Liefeld

“Be careful of what you wish for. You may get it.” –Old Chinese Proverb

“Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. –Bill Bixby as Dr. Banner

So Rob Liefeld wants credit.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen… lend me your ears. To paraphrase Shakespeare, I come not to bury Rob… but to praise him.

Anyone who so diligently lives his life by the credo of giving credit where credit is due must certainly have his request honored to the maximum ability that this column, and its crack research team, can muster.

Since Rob expressed his gratitude to me for bringing up the matter of Cable’s origins–thereby providing him an opportunity to depict Louise Simonson, one of the sweetest and most talented women in the industry, as a profit hungry, acclaim grubbing leech–I feel it only fair to continue in my Rob-sanctioned efforts to spread credit around.

Certainly Rob himself is liberal enough. The gent dispenses more credit than Citibank. For example, in an interview conducted by Paul Grant that will appear in issue #5 of Hero, due out in October (and the Hero folks were kind enough to allow me to print this excerpt in BID a full two months before the magazine, so all of you be sure to head out to the newsstand in October and pick up the ‘zine when it hits the stands), Rob doles out the appropriate credit for the creative debacle called Youngblood #1.

Youngblood #1 was a disaster, period, end of story. Put it behind me. It will always exist, but disaster. I worked with a friend, who I let go after that, who scripted the book. And when we reprint the first four issues, or zero through four, the whole probably will be rescripted and people will see how different, a different script on top of it. I did not write that. People, I was doing on that what I did on X-Force. I plotted it, and Fabian Nicieza would come in and script on me on X-Force. I plotted Youngblood #1, and I wanted two stories on each side. Little things like `To be continued’ didn’t get stamped down in the right places. I mean, that was a production problem, but the writing–you know the whole package, I look back and I go, you know, never gonna shake it that I can acknowledge that it didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to. Two, three and four, I’ll hold them up against any other comic book in terms of there’s a story going along, and the characters are wrapped up in it, battle one large villain character, and it was resolved.”

There it is, folks. From Rob himself–the reason that Youngblood had such an abysmal launch. Never mind that the first test of a comic book page is that you should be able to look at it unscripted and still be able to have some idea of what’s happening (it’s called “storytelling”). Never mind the bad anatomy, lack of correct perspective, and non-existent backgrounds. Never mind that the book shipped, and continued to ship, months late.

Rob squarely gives credit for the pure lousiness of Youngblood to “friend” Hank Kanalz.

Wotta guy. Wotta guy. I can only think of the Genie from Aladdin singing, “You ain’t never had a friend like me.”

In the world of Rob Liefeld, the writer exists to clean up after his mess. The writer as scapegoat: To be blamed when things crash and burn, and to be ignored–or even vilified–when things go well. To serve the convenience and whims of Rob Liefeld, master of credit.

He seems truly flummoxed that Kanalz was not able to do for him what Nicieza did for him: Namely, make him look good. Turn the you-know-what to shinola. After all, aren’t all writers interchangeable? All eminently equal and, likewise, disposable?

The inference to be drawn is that the much-despised Louise Simonson also slaved to make sense out of the pin-upped chaos that is a Liefeld page. She managed well enough to help make him a mega-star, and for that, she deserves… well, nothing but Rob’s approbation, it seems. Perhaps–and this is purely speculation on my part–perhaps she departed the X-books because she decided that staying where she was clearly not appreciated made even less sense than a page of Liefeld art.

Liefeld art.

By cracky, let’s keep doling out that credit which Rob values so highly, shall we?

As we know by know, image is everything. The artwork is the be-all, end-all of comics. As far as Rob is concerned, Louise’s contribution to Cable was negligible, non-existent. The words didn’t matter. Whatever Louise’s talents may have brought to the mix didn’t matter. Only the visuals mattered.

And credit should be given where credit is due.

You want it, Rob? You got it.

I yanked out the Cable trade paperback, plus some back issues I had of X-Force (gleefully tearing pages out and faxing them around), and the IBIDS–the Intrepid But I Digress Staff–swung into action. The mission was a simple one: Give Credit.

Now let’s not kid ourselves. Copying art poses is commonplace enough in this industry. Everyone knows about it. Lots of people do it. (Curiously, when writers do it, it’s called plagiarism, and is considered to be as low as a writer can sink; whereas when artists do it, it’s called swiping, and is considered a means of reference. Thus is the coin of the idea held to a higher standard than the art of the visual; but that never seems to occur to anyone.)

Let us also clarify the difference between referencing and swiping. Most, if not all, artists, use reference ranging from real life to work by others in their field. It’s done so that they can produce the best work possible. They want to “get it right,” as it were. Certainly there’s nothing wrong with that.

Nor is there anything wrong with an artist whose style is clearly influenced by another’s. No one came into this business in a vacuum.

Swiping, however, is another matter. It’s a sign of laziness. It’s a shortcut, a means of not having to work as hard. It’s when you’re too lazy to design your own page layouts, or figure something out on your own. So you have detailed files that show how superior artists in the field did things, and you stick them in where appropriate.

Drawing something in the style of, say, Will Eisner, is one thing. Doing a line-for-line copy of a page of Eisner, however, followed by John Bolton, followed by Wally Wood… that’s just a hodgepodge. It’s cheating.

In a nutshell–an artist whose using reference still produces work that looks consistently like his own style. A swipe artist produces work that’s all over the place.

And since Rob Liefeld so stridently claims that credit must be given, why, we can–nay, must–assume that if he were engaging in swiping (which I’m not saying he is), that he would, in fact, be crediting it.

Which means that any resemblance between a piece of Rob Liefeld art and some other artwork would have to be…

…coincidence.

And if by some hideous happenstance, they were in fact “homages,” why then, we’d have to make sure they were credited because, gosh darn it, Rob wants it that way.

Page 131, panel two of the Cable trade paperback, there’s a very impressive panel of Sunfire being tossed backwards. By staggering coincidence, an identical panel first appeared, line for line, in Fantastic Four #247. John Byrne: You deserve credit. Stand up and take a bow for your artistry. Why, y’know… I bet Rob’s doubtlessly-intended credit to John was supposed to appear on that very page, and dumb ol’ Louise forgot to write it down. Sure. That’s it.

On page 159, the first panel has Wolverine charging in profile. Now it’s not absolutely, 100% identical to a similar sequence on Page 17 of the Ground Zero trade paperback, drawn by Todd McFarlane. But it’s close. You be the judge.

The main difference is that Todd has Wolverine with his left arm sweeping in front of him. Of course, Rob has him with both arms pulled back so that he’s not only off-balance (inviting him to fall) but he’s also leading with his chin, offering no offense except his barred teeth. Cable, unsurprisingly, decks him the next panel.

But heck, why let common sense stand in the way of a Rob Liefeld page? Besides… the writer can probably cover it.

(Todd, by the way, explains in the third issue of Hero, now on sale, that Image’s inability to ship books on any sort of schedule thusly: “We’re growing roses… If you want me to squat something out, I can do it right here on the table. Let them [other publishers] get the crap out on time, we’ll grow the roses!” There you have it. They’re not disorganized or undisciplined. They’re constipated horticulturists.)

Want more? New Mutants #100. Shatterstar rams a sword through himself in order to take out a foe in a dynamic double-page spread. Holy cow, how staggeringly, coincidentally similar… right down to the line work… to a climactic moment in a battle from Ronin #1 by Frank Miller. An homage, no doubt… except no “After Miller” or similar acknowledgement appears. Perhaps it was a production error, committed by those same fools who left off the “To Be Continued” that would have made Youngblood so much more comprehensible.

Byrne, McFarlane, Miller. Who else should we be crediting?

Look. Over there. Now we’re starting to get paranoid, unsettled by these amazing coincidences. The world is swirling. Everything in Rob’s art is starting to look familiar. Could that be… Gil Kane Green Lantern or Atom? Why does Wolverine look like he was drawn by Neal Adams… oh, wait! Now he’s back to looking like Byrne! Is that a Steve Ditko Creeper scooting around? In our befuddlement, Stryfe is looking a lot like he stepped out of Michael Golden Micronauts, right down to those funky spigots on his chest… but on page 20 of the paperback, he’s lifting a guy off his feet in a panel identical to Dr. Doom threatening Kristoff in Fantastic Four #258, also by Byrne.

Where’s their credit?!

Far be it from me to accuse Rob of being some sort of swipe artist (Rob Hood: Prince of Thieves?), because that would be utterly contrary to his philosophy of due credit. We know how important that is to him.

And if it’s important to him, it’s important to us. And it should be to you, too.

But this is too big a job for the IBIDS alone, folks. So “But I Digress” is putting forward the following offer: Start going through your back issues of New Mutants, X-Force… heck! Go through Youngblood while you’re at it. Give some of those extra copies you bought to friends, so they can help.

See how many art poses you can peg. Send photocopies of both the original source, plus their reincarnation from Rob’s work, to: “STICKLERS FOR CREDIT,” To Be Continued, PO Box 239, Bayport, NY 11705. Yes, it’s a contest, I guess. But everyone is a winner, because for every confirmed sighting you turn in, you will receive a genuine, pin-it-on-your shirt, limited edition button (which I’m having produced even as we speak–at my own expense, because I believe so firmly in Rob’s vision) that says, “OFFICIAL ‘BUT I DIGRESS’ STICKLER.”

(Editor’s note: This contest has long since expired. Please do not send in entries.)

And Rob… if you’re out there, and you’re wondering “Why me?”, let’s remind you: your good friend Erik Larson started it, by writing a belligerent letter to Wizard in response to David Michelinie’s polite missive about Venom’s origins. And you perpetuated it by doing the same in regards to Walt Simonson. If you had been satisfied with my acknowledgement that you had the most legitimate claim to Cable’s origin, and Walt’s gentlemanly description of Louise’s contributions… if you had even followed Jim Valentino’s rather chivalrous example in his clarifying that he was not intending to insult Louise… then this column would not have been written.

For that, Rob… you can take full credit.

(Peter David, writer of stuff, is quite serious about the above offer. Make a party of it. Have friends over. Order in pizza, but be sure to pay with credit.)



49 comments on “Giving Credit Where Credit is Due, Part 1

  1. I’ve a bit of a tangential tale to recollect… ‘way back when, HBO was showing an animated Spawn half hour show every Friday night at 11, and being that it was, y’know, animated and comic book and after prime time… we couldn’t resist.
    .
    Todd McFarlane introduced each episode with a little live spiel, and the one night, he’s looking right into the camera, and said, “What’s the true face of terror?”
    .
    Without missing a beat, Mrs. Bad Clown and I both looked at each other and said, “Rob Liefeld.”
    .
    That might be mean, and he may be a swell fellow… but dammit, we didn’t see any of that episode for laughing so hard…
    .
    I remain,
    Sincerely,
    Eric L. Sofer
    x<]:o){
    The Bad Clown…

  2. Wow…epic. Note to self–try not to pìšš øff PAD any more than I probably already have.
    .
    There was a time when rob Liefeld was at or near the top of the heap in fan popularity. Now he is something of an insult (“Your art looks like it was drawn by Rob Liefeld!” “Take that back! TAKE THAT BACK!”).
    .
    I wonder how much this BID was responsible for the dawning realization that the Emperor was naked.

    1. “I wonder how much this BID was responsible for the dawning realization that the Emperor was naked.”
      .
      I knew Palpatine was wearing nothing underneath that robe! 😉

    2. Actually, it seems to me that PAD will often ignore jibes and barbs hurled at himself. But Lord help you if you try to pick on one of his friends. THEN you’ll find yourself in a pickle.

    3. Actually, the day the paper came out, I got a breathless call from Louise Simonson. Weezie said, “I just read your column! Wow! I hope I never get you mad at ME!”
      .
      PAD

    4. .
      I seem to remember that Rob responded to this (or to later like-columns) by pointing out the only few instances he ever did as a pro of “homages” in his work and had sort of a “F-U and so there” tone to it.
      .
      The results were hilarious as the fan and pro-commentators response was to show about 100 more examples. Some of them being full page swipes. I think my favorite was the TPB cover he did for X-Factor where Cable is holding a 50 caliber Browning and had ammo wrapped around him like belts and straps. I never could figure out why Cable was holding that thing since I never saw him using the thing in any stories to that point. Then someone pointed out that Rob swiped it, pretty much line for line, from a G.I. Joe cover feature the Joe’s heavy machine gunner Roadblock.
      .
      And then there was the two page Teen Titans spread he swiped from Perez…

      1. I remember that letter he wrote CBG. He compared his work to DePalma’s homages to Hitchcock. He pointed out a couple other “homages” and then asked for his button. I can’t wait to reread the response column.
        .
        Then about two months later Rob did a cover for CBG that was a swipe of a Thing cover.

    5. It always seemed to me that PAD was pretty thick skinned — when it comes to criticism directed at himself. But Lord help you if you try to attack one of his friends…

  3. I remember this BID from back in the day when you originally published it.

    I also have to admit that i was, along with many others, a Rob Liefeld fanboy back in the day. I know that my 7 year old knows how to draw better anatomically correct stick figures, but i found his art, at least at the time, different and exciting.

    That said, i’ve ALWAYS maintained that he, along with a few others of the original Image guys, are real asshats who got WAY too full of themselves WAY too fast.

    And i’ll finish with this… back when i was much more into the comics scene, and had met many of these professionals MANY times in MANY different conventions, i never met anyone nicer, more polite, more friendly and more profesional than Mrs. Simonson.

  4. Swiping, however, is another matter.
    .
    Here’s also looking 15-17 years later at Greg Land, who abuses swiping to a level probably never before seen in the industry.

    1. This is not an untruth. Also, it seems like a lot of what he swipes from is pørņ-ish, which does not make it better.

      He almost killed Uncanny for me. Only the completionist in me kept me buying it. I really should have more self control. I’m amazed that we haven’t (or I haven’t at least) seen any “insider” commentary on his “art” like there was for Liefeld back in the day. I’m guessing it’s because he still works for Marvel?

      1. Actually, he did kill Uncanny for me. After the Sisterhood arc, I just decided there’s plenty of real pørņ around, if that’s what I want to see.

        And as far as the X-Men go, there’s so much good stuff collected on TPs and HCs that I think it doesn’t make sense to subject myself to “Uncanny O-Faces” anymore.

      2. Do a Google search for “Rich Johnston Greg Land Swipe” and you’ll get Mr. Johnston’s commentary on his “art” with plenty of examples.

  5. I started reading comic in early ’92. My source of comics was 7-11 and I bought only DC (Superman titles, Batman titles, Green Lantern, Flash and JLA/JLE). My dad started taking me to a comic store that was 45 minutes away or more depending on traffic. There, an employee of the store who was also a speculator and was always doing side deals with clients, introduce me to Image in ’93. He convince me of buying directly from him everything that has been release up to that time which wasn’t that much.
    .
    What attracted me of Image at the time was the fact that it was a universe that was just starting. To me it was like having Action Comics #1. Having never read marvel comics or wizard magazine I had no idea who the creators were or how the company came to be. The titles were not derivative to me because, again, I did not read X-men titles and only been reading comic for about a year.
    .
    The art cought my attention but I think it was the paper quality and the colors. DC comics (the ones that I bought)had standard paper and color, Image was using computer color separation and premium paper.
    .
    Was there a paperback version of Youngblood with redone dialogue release a few years ago? I think I read about it on newsarama.

  6. Wow! This was the very first ‘But I Digress’ I ever read! My friend Jeremiah gave it to me to read when I was 15 and I was completely shocked by this column and couldn’t get enough of it! Thanks for running this again Mr. David!

  7. Historical footnote: Nothing was “resolved” in Youngblood #4; the story ended in a cliffhanger. For the actual resolution, readers had to pick up Youngblood #5, which was published only as a flip book with Brigade #4.

  8. This was always one of my favorite BID installments. I’m curious to read the original comments from Rob Liefeld, Walt Simonson and Jim Valentino that sparked this response. Are those available online anywhere?

  9. Ah, the good ol’ days. For the record, I was one of the IBIDS who helped gather the swipes, sitting in Glenn Hauman’s apartment, going through Liefeld comics and saying, “HEY!” I think I was the one who found the Byrne ripoff……

    1. Actually, I remember the Byrne piece, but I think you were the one who found the actual issue in my somewhat under-organized collection.

      Ye gods, we’re getting on in years.

  10. I also remember when this article was first published (BID was always the first thing I read in every new CBG) and I distinctly remember thinking how badly PAD had just taken Rob apart. I had never been a fan of Rob’s art so I only had a handful of issues of stuff he’d drawn, and I had no idea how much stuff he’d swiped over the years. This article was a real eye-opener.

    I also remember at one point, because PAD had taken pretty much all of Image to task at one point or another, he addressed a question about why he never really hammered Jim Lee, and his answer was something along the lines of “Because Jim never did or said anything stupid enough worth pounding him for.” Always loved that frank answer. =)

  11. I wish this had been included in the first BID collection, because that was my introduction to the column, and it would’ve made a perfect addition to the section on Image.
    .
    Couple of scattered thoughts:
    .
    Where exactly did Rob depict Louise Simonson, as a “profit hungry, acclaim grubbing leech”? Weezie was a regular fixture in the class Walter taught at the School of Visual Arts in 92-93, and not only is she as sweet as you describe, Peter, but I distinctly remember that in at least two separate discussions I had with her (one in class, and one at a subsequent convention) that she freely stated that Rob had way more to do with Cable’s creation than she did. How did she try to grab credit for it?
    .
    The panel of Wolverine charging Cable, in my opinion, indeed looks more referential than plagiaristic. I’m not saying that Rob was terribly original in what he put into that pose, but at the same time, as a “swipe”, it’s rather subtle. It’s harder to make the case for a swipe, IMO, when the original pose or shot was rather simple and generic itself.
    .
    It’s interesting that now, there are entire websites devoted entirely to exposing swipes, with Liefeld’s art on much of them.

  12. I’m sorry, but when the topic of swiping comes up, I can’t help but think of Rich Buckler. In his case it’s forgivable because

    a) Rich actually can draw and

    b) I think he was under the impression that Marvel wanted that exact Kirby look, so he gave them what they wanted.

    1. Rich Buckler did way more swiping than Kirby rip-offs while he was at Marvel. Look at his Superman Vs. Shazam tabloid. You’ll find poses of Mary Marvel in flight that are line-for-line copies of Bob Oksner Supergirl poses from his stint on Adventure Comics in the early 1970s.
      Also, there was a Justice League issue he drew that showed a picture of Red Tornado walking with a Starro on his face. It was a direct swipe of a Neal Adams shot of Batman, right down to the way the cape was swirling.
      But, you’re right in your statement that Buckler can actually draw. It was his art on Avengers #102 that first hooked me on that book, along with the cliffhanger storyline.

      1. Didn’t know that about Rick. Wasn’t he the artist on the first comic you ever wrote, The Death of Jean Dewolff? Now I’m kinda curious if any of those panels were swiped.

  13. Like most comic fans, I loathe Rob Liefeld, but I never knew he swiped so much.
    .
    Some of those Image dudes are like politicians, the more you know about them, the less you like them.

    1. Its true that the more I ehar about them, the less I like them. Right now, Jim Valentino is the only one who seems like he isnt a dirtbag.

  14. I remember when this article was first published. I even remembered the art examples before I saw them. I wish I could remember more useful stuff this well. 🙂

  15. I think McFarlane, Liefeld and Larsen are the only ones who are profoundly morally challenged, and of them, only Laren comes off as an obnoxious áššhølë in his public persona.
    .
    As Peter has pointed out, Jim Lee has come off as a jerk, and should’ve been the public face of the company. I can’t think of anything outrageous Marc Silvestri has ever said or done either.

  16. Peter, do you (or does anyone else here) have a link to the letter in which Liefeld spoke ill of Weezie? Was this a letter to CBG?
    .
    Peter: On the other hand, at least Larsen is still producing “Savage Dragon.”
    Luigi Novi: I’m not sure I’m following. Are you alluding to criticism of the fact that the others are not illustrating their books (“Larsen’s a churl.” “Yeah, but at least he’s illustrating his own book.”), or were you making an ironic jab at the quality of Dragon (“Only Larsen comes off as a churl.” “Yeah, but he’s still producing that awful book.”)? Sorry, but I wanted to make sure I understood what you said.
    .
    I would point out that McFarlane is still writing Spawn, though I find it ironic that he has opined that the art is more important than the writing, yet the one job he still insists on doing on that book is the writing, and not the art, which is what made him successful.

    1. I was under the impression that Todd hadn’t been writing Spawn for a while, or that he comes and goes. And no, I wasn’t making a jab at Larsen. Say what you will about him, but of all the founders who proclaimed they were starting up the company specifically so they could write and draw their own characters, Larsen’s the only one who’s continued with that. He still writes and draws it doesn’t he? If not, then forget I said anything.
      .
      PAD

      1. .
        As was I. Not following the book I could be wrong, but a few years ago they were trumpeting Todd’s return to the book. The announcement is even still listed on the Spawn website’s archives.
        .
        http://www.spawn.com/news/news3.aspx?id=13385
        .
        “Beginning with Issue #185 in October, SPAWN will feature a new creative team, including SPAWN creator Todd McFarlane, Image Comics co-founder Whilce Portacio and writer Brian Holguin.”
        .
        Then there’s this from a few months ago.
        .
        http://www.newsarama.com/comics/Spawn-Week-5-Todd-McFarlane-100716.html
        .
        “For the occasion of the release of Spawn #200, Todd McFarlane is returning to the book for one issue, both writing and illustrating a majority of the book. Although he’s remained active in the books overall direction since it’s inception, he recently took a renewed interest in the series in 2008 as he once again took up the writing chores – and even inking in some cases. The fact that McFarlane hasn’t illustrated a complete issue of Spawn — or any other comic title – in many years makes the occasion of Spawn #200 even more special. With just two issues remaining until the milestone 200th issue, we talked with McFarlane about the build-up to this special issue and the work involved to get him there – and what he’s got planned next.”
        .
        So, yeah, I get the impression that he’s not been really working on the books too much in a manner beyond telling the writer to go in a general direction with the thing. Between these two links and a few others it seems that Todd is more or less a mini Marvel now as he’s working a studio system that’s not very different than the one he badmouthed so long ago.

      2. In defense of Todd, that’s not 100% surprising; lots of creators who become a big success quickly find that running their business takes up more time than doing the book that made them such a hit. Look at Eastman and Laird, who wound up spending all their time handling TMNT-related business matters and barely did any comics. Or Ben Edlund and the Tick, for that matter. The bigger you get, the more you have to do besides write and draw.

  17. it seems that Todd is more or less a mini Marvel now as he’s working a studio system that’s not very different than the one he badmouthed so long ago.
    .
    Well, the comment attributed to several people (my guess is that Byrne said it) was that Image wanted to be Marvel in the worst way…and succeeded.
    .
    PAD

  18. Boy, when I first read this in ’93, I was all full of piss-and-vinegar over the Image-splosion and the charlatan endeavors of R. Liefeld. However, now that I’m 35, I look on Rob much differently, and I guess much of that comes from a softening of my character as well as a peek into the man himself today, via Facebook/Twitter/self-documentation. While I still don’t care for his linework, I feel much more bullish about Rob today because of his unending enthusiasm for comics and the fact that he seems to be a marvelous father to his boys, not an easy thing to do. Rob has (ironically) rewritten his script, to me at least.

    1. So he’s a good father, doesn’t mean he is a good artist. Matter of fact, his “artwork” are some of the most awfull scriblings I’ve ever seen in a comic book (and I own a lot of crappy stuff from the bargain bins!). I NEVER understood why this man was praised by so many people, unless people where really stupid. Turned out, that was indeed the case in the ’90s…

      Liefeld is a black paragraph…no, page…no, footnote in comic history. To see him next to names like McFarlane, Larsen and Silvestri is an insult to all of comicdom. And now Marvel hired him, really???

      1. So he has unending enthusiasm for comics, doesn’t mean he is a good mountain climber. See, I can make up Straw Man rebuttals that are irrelevant to what Bill said, too.

  19. As someone who’s only recently started to read and appreciate comic books, I can only thank you for the heads-up about this Rob Liefeld guy. I read one of his Avengers issues and cringed at how bad everything was, then wondered if it was just me; glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks this guy is a hack.

  20. Back in the ’90s around the time this was written, I was working in a comics shop. One day I was goofing off looking at random back issues. I grabbed a Charlton comic — I’m pretty sure it was a Captain Atom — and there was a backup story that featured a costumed character that caught my eye. I can’t remember now if he was the hero or villain, but I do recall distinctly that it was drawn by Jim Aparo. (A little detective work would lead me to believe that he was a villain in the Nightshade backups in Captain Atom.)

    The reason that he caught my eye was that the logo on his costume was an exact match of the logo for Image Comics. The same wide lowercase sans-serif ‘i’, with the dot flat and as wide as the letter, and the top of the letter concave. Not that it’s a complicated logo or anything, but it’s distinctive enough for it to have caught my eye at a glance.

    Coincidences happen, though, right? It’s an “i”. There can’t be all that many ways to stylize it. Still, I thought of Liefeld’s tendency to “borrow”. Then I hit on it. The character’s name? “The Image”.

    I seem to recall then specifically looking for copyright information, and having to go through other back-issues of Captain Atom. I’m pretty sure that I saw that “The Image” appeared more than once. Honestly, my memory is not totally clear on it, but it may be that it was a multipart story spread across the backups in several issues.

    I’m pretty sure I made a photocopy of the pages and sent them to you at the time, Peter, probably via BID via the CBG. I don’t know if you ever got my letter. I should have kept better track of it. It would have been nice if Mr. Aparo had gotten some recompense for his work, even though I doubt he would even have remembered drawing it. I suppose it’s too late now. Jim is, sadly, long dead.

    But, honestly, any reason to pile on Liefeld is a good reason.

    If anyone has those old Captain Atoms, please take a look and confirm this for me. I want to say that it was the post-red-and-gold, multicolored Captain Atom, which I think would make it actually Captain Atom and not Strange Suspense, but I could be wrong.

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